Loose Lips Sink Ships

by Katrina LaCroix

  Chapter 12

  Though their rendezvous after practice was still a long ways off, the next time Avery saw Carter was when they were entering the locker rooms for gym class. She’d had an incredibly tough time putting together a second good-girl outfit, and so she settled for jeans, a cancer awareness t-shirt she’d stolen from the Red Cross office on the way to school, and a pair of glasses with no lenses.

  She curtsied when he glanced over at her from the entrance to the boy’s locker room, and he smiled faintly before ducking inside. It wasn’t strange for him to be emotionally remote at times, but she couldn’t understand why he didn’t act a little warmer toward her since she was giving him exactly what he wanted. The only explanation she could think of was that Ms. Downing was still on his mind, and he didn’t want to risk setting her off with a show of affection.

  The students changed their clothes and trickled out into the gymnasium. As soon as Avery emerged, she froze when she saw Ms. Downing glaring at her, trying to shoot laser beams out of her eyes. Though it unsettled her, she tried to ignore it and huddle in amongst the other girls.

  The volleyball nets had been removed, and the only pieces of sports equipment anyone could see were a pair of peach-colored balls in Ms. Downing’s hands. She gathered all of the students around to tell them they’d be heading outside to the utility field for a game of kickball. Most of the students were pleased, but it irritated Avery that their teacher had somehow sidled up next to Carter to make her announcement. She was letting their arms graze each other, trying to make it seem natural, but it only served to enrage Avery.

  Ms. Downing, wearing spandex shorts and a purple sports bra, led the class outside into the nippy air toward the utility field. They could see their breath and a few complained about the cold, but their teacher scoffed at them and told them they should be glad to get outside while they can.

  The tennis courts where Avery met Carter the day before were just off to their right, separated from where they were going by the track and field area. After a few more minutes, they’d reached their destination, which had four white sacks set out in a square for bases.

  “Let’s see. Who should I choose for captains?” Ms. Downing asked herself, still standing next to Carter. “Oh, well since you happen to be right next to me, you can be a captain Carter, and then I guess Avery will do.”

  Avery immediately flinched when she heard her name. What was Ms. Downing doing? By making them both captains, Avery would be separated from Carter for the entire period. He also wouldn’t be able to pick her even if she wanted to. The whole thing seemed really weird, but catching Carter’s eyes reminded her to act cool.

  “I’m sure someone else would make a much better captain than I,” she demurred.

  “That’s probably true,” Ms. Downing agreed, “but it won’t be the first thing in your life you’ve had to suck something up. Come on over.”

  “It’s really quite alright,” she begged, putting up her hand, but Ms. Downing’s evil glare returned, revealing how hell-bent she was on getting her way.

  “Don’t you dare talk back to me, young lady! You’ll do what I say or they’ll be consequences. Get over here, now!”

  Her stern tone left Avery no other choice, and she took her appointed place. She tried to shoot Carter a look that asked, what the hell is going on? But he just shrugged. Other than her friend Eri, Avery didn’t care who was on her team, so she made her picks based on who was least likely to piss her off, leaving Carter with most of the strong players.

  Avery also had no interest in playing kickball. The only thing on her mind was meeting Carter at the end of the day. It really couldn’t come soon enough, and she started daydreaming about it as she was standing in the outfield letting balls fly by her. A whistle blew and Avery woke up to find Ms. Downing storming at her.

  “What do you think you’re doing? Hello!” she called.

  “My apologies, M’am. It shan’t happen again.”

  Ms. Downing took on a red flush that seemed to extend all the way to her chest. She squeezed the extra kickball in her hands, fuming.

  “You are really pushing my buttons today, you know that? You’re supposed to be setting an example for your team, not just taking up space and dragging everybody down. This is your last warning!”

  As Ms. Downing walked away after her threat, Avery thought about all of the places she’d like to stab her psychotic teacher. The only problem with that though was that Avery was sure piercing Ms. Downing’s skin would immediately release whatever monster was living inside of her. A flamethrower would work much better.

  Avery kept herself composed though and avoided any more incidents for the next few innings. Ms. Downing was constantly watching her, begging for a chance to punish her for having Carter. If only she knew how little of him Avery actually had. But not a ball came near her, and so there was nothing to be yelled at for.

  Avery’s turn to kick finally came, and she lined up behind home base. She had planned to use her usual strategy: bunt, jog to first, and then find a way to get out so she could sit down. But Ms. Downing’s constant leering made her decide she should do something completely out of the ordinary, try. If she could, she’d blast the ball over the fence. The pitcher rolled the ball and she raced in to kick it when the whistle blew.

  “No, no, no!” Ms. Downing wailed. Avery stopped dead and the ball rolled by. In a second, Ms. Downing was right there next to her. “That’s not how you do it at all. Haven’t I taught you anything?” The response Avery wanted to give was “no,” but she opted for something else.

  “I beg your pardon, but I believe I know how to kick a kickball.”

  “That’s it!” Ms. Downing raved. “I’ve had it with you and your backtalk. If you’d been paying attention, you’d know you were supposed to kick with your laces, not with your toes. Instead, you were engaging in willful insubordination, and that’s going to land you in after-school detention!”

  “But…” Avery gasped, her mouth hanging open. This woman had lost her mind, completely disrupting class and berating her for no reason. Most of the other students were watching at this point. Avery hoped Ms. Downing would do something to get herself fired, like swear or touch her, but she seemed to know better than to cross those lines.

  “But? But what? You want another day or detention? You got it, tomorrow too. Open your mouth to me again and it’ll be a week.”

  Things were getting completely out of control, and Avery had no idea what was happening. This woman was acting like a diabetic in a candy store, and there was nothing she could do about it. In a second, she realized Carter was standing next to her.

  “What’s going on here?” Carter asked Ms. Downing, who immediately broke from her rage to smile at him.

  “It’s really none of your concern. You should probably go back to your position. It seems like some students want nothing more than to get themselves in trouble, and your best bet is to avoid them at all costs.”

  “Everybody here has been toeing the ball since the very first pitch. So why are you picking on Avery?”

  It was sweet of him to try and defend her, even if it only rekindled Ms. Downing’s rampage.

  “I’m shocked to hear such an outburst coming from you, Mr. Thomson. It seems she needs to be made an example of now to prevent more problems amongst the rest of you. So that’ll be a week of detention for Ms. Leigh.”

  “What?” he gasped, completely incensed.

  “That’s two weeks for her!”

  “You’re being completely inappropriate, you know that, right?” Carter said, lowering his voice.

  “Three weeks!” Ms. Downing shouted. “Ms. Leigh, I suggest you get yourself to in-school detention now before anyone buys you even more time.”

  Carter mercifully kept his mouth shut. His mouth hung open, completely unable to believe what he was witnessing. In this completely bizarre moment, Avery knew she had a chance to touch his heart and make it memorable.

  “It’s just a
s well,” Avery said, taking a step back. “We’re lucky to be working with a trained professional who understands the importance of discipline in the classroom.”

  Saying it like she meant it, she had somehow managed to keep every trace of sarcasm from her voice. She fluttered her eyelashes at Carter before walking back to the school building.

  “See you tonight!” he called to her after she was a ways away, making her heart skip a beat. Avery had a few things now, an enemy in Ms. Downing who was trying to destroy her, and three weeks of detention that would extend past when she was evicted from her home and living on the street. But she also had Carter, and she would only have to stay alive until the end of the day to see what kind of effect her compassion had on him.